come a little closer
by amillionsmiles
Summary: Tadashi Hamada revises everything he's ever thought about GoGo Tomago. / In which punk!Tadashi is marginally more composed when it comes to dealing with the ladies but still hasn't figured out how to act around nerd!GoGo. Lifestyle-swap AU. Oneshot. For all my Tomadashi tumblr buddies.


**A/N:** So for those of you not on tumblr, the tomadashi tag has been overtaken by a lifestyle switch AU and the idea was just too fun for me not to write. Here we go!

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><p>He pulls into the parking lot with a thunderous roar, parking his motorcycle in one fluid, practiced motion. From the sidewalk, nerdy girl looks up, in the process of chaining her bicycle to the bike rack.<p>

Nerdy girl has a name, which Tadashi Hamada knows as a byproduct of them being in the same industrial design class. However, he's hesitant to use it, because she looks like she scares easily, and Tadashi doesn't want to disturb this quiet exchange they've got going on.

Because every morning for the past two weeks, Leiko Tomago has been admiring him, and Tadashi would be lying if he said he didn't like the attention.

(If he were to be perfectly honest, he has a hunch that she's more interested in his bike than in him, but a guy can dream.)

As he pulls off his gloves and shoves them into his pocket, he leans back on his motorcycle and calls, "Hey."

Leiko looks around, startled, before realizing that he's talking to her. "Hi?" she replies, in the middle of clipping her hair back with a purple barrette.

"What were the pages for last night's reading?"

"156 to 211," Leiko answers without missing a beat.

"Sweet, thanks." Tadashi grins at her, sliding off his bike and heading in the opposite direction, his boots clomping solidly on the ground.

o.O.o

Contrary to popular opinion, Tadashi Hamada is not a slacker.

So he knows for a matter of fact that last night's reading was _not_ pages 156 to 211, but, rather, 87 to 155. What he doesn't know is why Leiko Tomago of all people would lie to him about it.

But he's going to find out.

"Hey, Tomago," he calls, falling into step beside her. His steps are heavy alongside the hurried pace of her penny loafers, and Leiko frowns at him in confusion, her arms occupied with her books.

The way her face scrunches makes her glasses ride up higher on her nose, and Tadashi thinks, momentarily, _Cute,_ before Leiko's "Can I help you?" interrupts his thoughts.

"You told me the wrong pages," he says, smiling to show her that it's no big deal.

"Something tells me you did just fine on the quiz anyways," she answers, adjusting the hem of her sweater.

Tadashi blinks. _Sarcastic—_he hadn't been expecting that. "So that's what this is about, huh? Worried that little ol' me is going to sneak up from behind and outscore you?" he winks to make up for missing a beat earlier.

Leiko squints up at him, looking as if she wants to comment on their obvious height difference, before eventually answering, "No."

From anyone else, it would sound cocky, but Leiko just sounds matter-of-fact. Composed. And when she checks her watch and states, "I have to go to class," it's cool and collected as well, yet Tadashi can't help the stupid grin that overtakes his face.

"See you around, Tomago," he calls after her.

o.O.o

Their next few conversations go like this:

"Hey, Tomago, when's that project due?"

"We got a calendar at the beginning of the year."

"Tomago, how'd you do on the last paper?"

"Well. Bye."

"Tomago—"

"I have a first name, you know."

o.O.o

Two months into school, he finds her crouched by her bike, book bag tossed on the ground. As he slides one leg over his motorcycle, he hears Leiko growl in frustration, and the slow _hiss_ of air tells him she's taken her wheel out and is removing her probably flat tire.

Curiously, Tadashi watches her peel the rubber from its frame. Leiko clicks her tongue in annoyance at finding the source of the puncture and tosses the discarded tire to the side, sitting back on her hands as she considers what to do.

Having waited in silence long enough, Tadashi clears his throat. "Hey, Tomago, I could give you a ride," he offers. "Not in like, a creepy way or anything."

Leiko's head swivels over her shoulder as she regards him from the ground, eyeing him archly. "A guy with piercings is offering me a ride," she starts, standing up and dusting off her pleated skirt. "How could I say no?"

He tries not to let his throat bob too much as he watches her approach, skirt swinging _just so_. If he didn't know better, he'd say Leiko is _sauntering_ over, but girls like Leiko don't do that. Do they?

Primly, she seats herself behind him.

Over the hum of his engine as he starts up his motorcycle, Tadashi says, "There's a bike shop—"

"Off of 22nd," finishes Leiko.

Tadashi swivels around, surprised, but Leiko's face is hidden by the—by _his_—helmet. He pulls out of the lot slowly; Leiko's grip is light and the last thing he wants is for her to fly off the back. But as he joins the flow of traffic, Leiko's arms circled around his waist, Tadashi gets a sinking feeling that he's gotten a lot more than he bargained for.

o.O.o

Leiko is in and out of the bike shop in less than ten minutes, and Tadashi can't help gaping as she slides comfortably back into place behind him, as if she's been doing this all her life.

"What?" asks Leiko, amusement evident in her voice.

"Nothing," says Tadashi, recovering. "Here." He hands her the helmet.

Leiko doesn't look like she believes him, but she lets it go, pulling the helmet back over her head.

"Ready?" asks Tadashi.

"Ready," nods Leiko, wrapping her arms around his middle. "And you can go faster, you know."

So Tadashi does.

o.O.o

They get back to campus around 6:00. Leiko's hair is adorably mussed from wearing Tadashi's helmet, but she doesn't seem to care, too preoccupied with fixing her bike. Tadashi leans against his motorcycle, watching as Leiko eases the new tube on with dexterous hands.

"You're good at this," observes Tadashi.

Leiko looks up from reattaching her wheel. "I should be. I'm building a bike for my senior project."

"What kind of bike?"

"One that uses electromagnetic suspension."

"What's a girl like you doing building a bike like that?"

"What's a guy like you doing building a nursing bot?" counters Leiko, slinging her book bag over her shoulder.

"Touché," grins Tadashi, thrilled that she knows something about him after all.

They lapse into silence before Leiko says, simply, "I like to go fast," addressing his earlier question.

Tadashi chuckles deeply. "So I've noticed."

"What about you?"

"Do I like to go fast?" repeats Tadashi, confused.

Leiko rolls her eyes. "No, what's the story behind your bot?"

"Oh, that," says Tadashi, picking at his motorcycle gloves. "I just want to help people, I guess. But it's hard to be everywhere at once. So I figured, why not a bot, so that you know there's always someone looking out for you."

Leiko's curiosity softens into something…different. "That's…sweet."

Tadashi shoots her a sideways grin. "Yeah?"

"You aren't what I expected."

"Neither are you, Tomago," says Tadashi, resting his forearms on the handlebars of his motorcycle.

"It's Leiko," she corrects.

"Leiko," tests out Tadashi, locking eyes with her. It rolls off his tongue, and there's something uncertain and thrilling about the whole thing. Intimate. He shivers slightly under her gaze. "Ahem," he coughs, breaking the moment, "how about a nickname?"

"Nickname?"

"Yeah," says Tadashi, pondering. This is new territory for him—he never imagined they'd get past being casual acquaintances, but something about this evening's exchange feels like a door has been opened. "How about GoGo? Since it turns out you're into that whole living in a fast lane thing."

"GoGo," repeats Leiko dryly. "I guess I can live with that."

o.O.o

Their next few conversations go like this:

"How's your bike coming along?"

"Pretty good. Wheels could be better."

"Today's lecture was pretty cool, huh?"

"Fascinating."

"Hey, GoGo, want to grab a bite?"

"Maybe."

o.O.o

By some miraculous turn of events, he manages to get her to agree to a date.

"Hey, GoGo."

Leiko—GoGo—turns, her ballet flats slapping against the stones as she walks down the stairs. She stops on the step just above him so that they can remain eye level with each other.

She's forgone her glasses in exchange for contacts, and her hair is tucked neatly behind her right ear, held in place by a sparkly barrette. The hem of her short-sleeved lilac dress falls around her knees gently, and Tadashi suddenly feels woefully inadequate.

He managed to find a suitable button-up and some slacks, but the only belt he could find is still studded with metal spikes. And even though he ditched the backwards baseball cap, his spiked hair and leather jacket still seem out of place next to the neatly combed hair and blazers of the other people entering the restaurant.

He got her flowers, though. One rose, to be exact.

GoGo smiles as Tadashi holds it up, twirling its stem between his fingers. "You look nice, GoGo."

"You're not so bad yourself," replies GoGo, and Tadashi tries not to blush too much when she takes his hand and pulls him up the steps and into the restaurant.

o.O.o

Afterwards, they go for a walk in the Japanese tea garden. A cool breeze generates ripples across the glassy surface of the pond, and Tadashi shrugs out of his leather jacket, setting it on GoGo's shoulders.

GoGo smiles before her eyes flit to his arms. "What's your tattoo of?"

Tadashi stops, surprised, before he looks down and realizes that his sleeves are rolled up and a swirl of ink peeks out from just under one of the cuffs.

"It's a dragon." He turns around, pushing his sleeve up further in order to show her.

GoGo reaches out, fingers tracing from just below his elbow up to his biceps, where the dragon's head disappears, covered by the remaining cloth. Tadashi swallows, because she's looking at him like she looks at the board during the class, all intense focus, only it's different because he doesn't know if she likes what she sees.

"Do you have any others?"

"Not right now. But I'm thinking of getting another."

"Where?"

"My back."

"Hm," says GoGo, withdrawing her hand. Tadashi tries not to mourn the loss of her touch too much. She burrows deeper into his jacket, pulling it closer around her. "Thanks for lending me your jacket."

"You look good in it."

"Yeah?" says GoGo, raising an eyebrow. "You sure it doesn't ruin my aesthetic?"

Tadashi shakes his head, smiling. "Nah. You'd make a good punk."

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

"I meant it as one," says Tadashi, reaching forward to unclip GoGo's barrette. Her side bangs fall across her face, no longer restrained, and he runs a finger along them, thinking. "Maybe a purple streak here?" he suggests, only half joking.

GoGo leans into his touch slightly, biting her lip.

Come to think of it, she's been doing that a lot tonight—biting her lip. GoGo has always struck Tadashi as a chapstick kind of girl, but tonight her lips are covered in shiny pink gloss, and the whole effect is rather…distracting. In fact, it's taking Tadashi almost all of his self-control not to stare at her mouth.

"Tadashi?"

Tadashi twitches slightly, caught off-guard. This is the first time GoGo has ever actually said his name, and there's something knowing in her tone. _Crap,_ thinks Tadashi. _I've been caught._

"Yes, GoGo?" he says, trying to play it cool.

"You're an idiot." And before he can respond, her hand closes around his wrist and she yanks him forward, capturing his mouth with his.

Tadashi Hamada revises everything he's ever thought about GoGo Tomago. Seriously, he's starting to think that maybe he should keep a tally of all the times she's surprised him. GoGo's hand curls around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, and he tugs her toward him using the pockets of his familiar jacket.

Internally, he's thanking Hiro for slipping a tin of breath mints into his back pocket earlier this evening, and he's also thanking his earlier self for popping one.

GoGo bites his lip a little as they break apart, gasping for air, and Tadashi keeps his forehead resting against hers. His eyebrow piercing digs a little uncomfortably into his skin, but he's far too breathless to pay much attention to it.

"We should do this again sometime," he finally says, after recovering.

GoGo pulls back a little, eyes sparkling. "The dinner thing or just this last part?"

"Dinner, this last part, the whole deal."

"Mhmm," says GoGo, making a noise of agreement in the back of her throat, and it takes all of Tadashi's willpower not to cut her off with another kiss. "I'm free next Saturday—"

"Done," mutters Tadashi, and this time his restraint _does_ snap as he swoops in, ready for another round.

(She stole the first kiss, he gets the second. It's only fair.)

o.O.o

When Tadashi finally brings her over to meet his family, Aunt Cass bursts out laughing.

"Never in a million years did I think—oh, this is just too great," says Aunt Cass, holding up a finger as she scrambles to locate her camera. "I'm sorry, can I please get a picture of you two?"

Tadashi grumbles good-naturedly but gets into position, slinging one arm around GoGo and rumpling her collared shirt in the process.

"Not such a tough guy at home, huh?" murmurs GoGo, pinching his side fondly.

Tadashi winks and pulls her closer, wrapping his arm more tightly around her waist. "What are you talking about? I've always been a sweetheart."


End file.
